I have not been able to get back to Cades Cove to try to spot this guy again. I know it seems too good to be true, but I hope SOMEONE in the area will try to get up to the Hyatt Lane area and look for the White Tailed Kite. I've consulted a couple other books (Sibleys shows the range as far north as the GA/TN line), and am convinced that it is truly a White Tailed Kite. Surely some of the elite birders in KTOS will be willing to at least go up and take a look. I'd hate for you all to miss out on seeing him! J The setting (Jan 1st): Hyatt Lane (second cut-through road on the Cades Cove Loop Road), just before the second bridge, on the left side of the road. Judy Massey and I were watching a gorgeous immature Northern Harrier coast over the field there. (Judy had a camera in her hand, no binoculars.) I noticed this very white-breasted bird about 100 yards out in the field in a row of large, bare hardwood trees. I went through the field, stopping every 10 or 15 yards to look again; then from about 30 yards away, with Nikon Monarch 10x40 binocs, had a very clear view of him perched about 30' up and about 8-10' out on a branch. He was facing almost towards me as I walked across the field, then turned in profile and stood up and ruffled his wings, then took off and flew slightly down and away from me. Points that convince me of the identification: Smaller than a Northern Harrier Sitting high in a perch Completely white breast and head, with a black smudgy eye spot Yellow legs and feet DARK wings on top - not grey, but very dark. (I never saw the underside of the wings, so could not see the black shoulder patch.) Completely white tail When he flew away, the tail was flared, no subterminal or terminal band, and he had a "kite" look: more compact in body and wings than long like a harrier. I stood for a minute listing in my mind the field marks, especially the solid white tail, and thought to myself, "Kite. Don't know what kind, but a kite." OK, somebody go look for him!! Patty Ford Knox County - Knoxville =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________